


The Bringer of Light

by balaurvestic



Category: The Death Gate Cycle - Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman
Genre: Angst, Gen, Zifnab knows an awful lot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-18
Updated: 2018-11-18
Packaged: 2019-08-25 09:39:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 611
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16658744
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/balaurvestic/pseuds/balaurvestic
Summary: He's remembered the name a few pitiful moments before death. It was enough.





	The Bringer of Light

He was left with the Squatters.

He was looking into the dark, deadly menacing sky of the Labyrinth, and did not understand what were his parents thinking about. Were they that idealistic? Idealists patryns? Too desperate patryns? Patryns who suddenly found a tiny bit of hope and gave him the name under its influence? If so, they are dead. When the Labyrinth gives hope - it takes it back, without pity, without delay.

His name was Luke. Luke, L-u-k-e, L-u-x, Lucifer, the Bringer of Light, the Light incarnate, the light which countless generations of his brothers and sisters have never seen.  
What were his parents hoping for?  
What was he supposed to bring?

He was running, stumbling over stones, stumbling over the torn corpses of patryns, over the chewed corpses of patryns, rotting, scattered, strangled and brown from dried blood, and the only light he carried was the burning blue of the runes that caused death to the Labyrinth's aborminations.  
He was bringing nothing but death, and death followed on his heels.

He was running.  
Then he was hobbling.  
Then he was crawling, marring the stones with blood, and hate pushed him forward, beyond the rune circle, beyond the cursed saint walls.

Then - he saw - and understood.  
He has found the light.  
He will bring the light! He will bring it to all his people, to all his brothers and sisters, sons and daughters running eternally in the hope of at least seeing. He will bring the light of hope to all of them.  
He was seeing the city, quiet, peaceful, safe, walked along its deserted streets, wandered through future fields, and tears streamed down his weary face.  
He will bring them light. He will create a Paradise for them.

The Sartan runes closed like a cage, and he thought - _am I blind? Why did I not see?_  
He no longer needed to run, but everything around was too wrong.  
Returning to their eternal prison for the first time, to save a barely alive child from death, he suddenly realizes.  
Light can be carried in the dark.  
The Labyrinth is no longer his master. He is not afraid now, he does not spit on the word "hope", now he is the master. Sovereign. _Lord._  
Labyrinth quietly submits.  
Or at least, assures him of this.

The heart rune hurts for a long time, but he does not regret what he's done.  
Now he is not Luke - he is Xar, the Lord, and the children he saved are safe, more and more of them. He knows that he will not just bring them light; he will illuminate all the worlds that are rightfully theirs, and he will avenge everyone who has met their end in this prison. He is the only one powerful enough for this.

He realizes that darkness has drowned out the light, too late. He allowed the darkness to take away his daughter - _his wife_ , to hurt his son as many times as even Labyrinth did not, to betray those for whom he created a paradise, created and took away.  
He was so blind ... what an irony that he only realizes it under a scarlet, chilling gaze. The name rune hurts, disturbed once again, awakened, life flows from him into a son so beloved, so devoted and betrayed.

Jaws rush at him.  
“The name is ... Luke ...” he says, not hearing anything behind the crunch of bones.  
He knows - Haplo has heard.  
He closes his eyes with relief.  
Even though brought his people too little light - but at least he did not manage to plunge them into darkness. At least he managed to give them something the Labyrinth will never take away.


End file.
